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  <title>Centre for Internet and Society</title>
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            These are the search results for the query, showing results 41 to 55.
        
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg">
    <title>PSI2</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>


   <dc:date>2014-04-02T09:50:15Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI1.jpg">
    <title>PSI1</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI1.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI1.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI1.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2014-04-02T09:27:36Z</dc:date>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Politicking.jpg">
    <title>Politicking</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/Politicking.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/Politicking.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/Politicking.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2014-04-14T06:13:30Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg">
    <title>Pocket Science 4</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>


   <dc:date>2014-04-16T10:35:22Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg">
    <title>Pocket Science 3</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2014-04-16T07:35:09Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg">
    <title>Pocket Science 3</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>


   <dc:date>2014-04-16T07:31:23Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg">
    <title>Pocket Science 2</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
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    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>


   <dc:date>2014-04-16T07:28:53Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg">
    <title>Pocket Science 1</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2014-04-15T07:08:52Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PublicGrievances2.jpg">
    <title>pg2</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/PublicGrievances2.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/PublicGrievances2.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/PublicGrievances2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>


   <dc:date>2014-03-13T05:56:31Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy2.jpg">
    <title>Occupy 2</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy2.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy2.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy2.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>


   <dc:date>2013-12-26T08:45:33Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy1.jpg">
    <title>Occupy 1</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy1.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy1.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/Occupy1.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2013-12-26T08:44:14Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
   </item>


    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/WWA.png">
    <title>Never asked</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/WWA.png</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/WWA.png'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/WWA.png&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2014-02-23T11:50:32Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
   </item>


    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/home-images/Nainapoem.jpg">
    <title>Naina</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/home-images/Nainapoem.jpg</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
        
        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/home-images/Nainapoem.jpg'&gt;https://cis-india.org/home-images/Nainapoem.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
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   <dc:date>2014-04-25T11:33:58Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Image</dc:type>
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    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers">
    <title>Multimedia Storytellers: Panel Discussion</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;This post brings three storytellers together to find points of intersection between their methods. The format will be that of a panel discussion and it features: Arjun Srivathsa from Pocket Science India, Ameen Haque from the Storywallahs, and Ajay Dasgupta from The Kahani Project. They discuss technology, interpretation and action in storytelling. &lt;/b&gt;
        
&lt;pre&gt;CHANGE-MAKERS: Arjun Srivathsa, Ameen Haque and Ajay Dasgupta

ORGANIZATIONS:Pocket Science India, The Storywallahs and The Kahani Project

METHOD OF CHANGE: Storytelling&lt;/pre&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;Over the last couple of weeks, I had the privilege of interviewing three storytellers. What struck me the most, besides from their fascinating ideas about storytelling, was how many of their ideas overlapped. As much as I would love to sit all of them in the same room and enjoy the fireworks, there are a number of logistical constraints that shut my storyteller reunion daydreams down; so for this post, I decided to be a self-appointed liaison between you and them. I will mimic this discussion by putting my conversations with them side by side, in the format of a panel discussion. Their interaction will have to happen in the realm of your imagination.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;The questionnaire I used for my interviews was open-ended. I was curious to hear what they wanted to share about their work, as opposed to filtering and steering the conversation in a certain direction; so I let them take their own turn. While I clearly inquired about the relationship between storytelling and making change, it was fascinating to see each storyteller reach the question of ‘social impact' through different channels; testimony of the influence of their education and professional backgrounds in their work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;If I were to bring them together, the topic of the discussion would be: '&lt;strong&gt;Technology, Interpretation and Action in Storytelling&lt;/strong&gt;'. We briefly discussed mediation and semiotics&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a name="fr1" href="#fn1"&gt;[1]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; in the &lt;a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance#pre-production"&gt;Pre-Production&lt;/a&gt; section of the &lt;a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance"&gt;Storytelling as Performance&lt;/a&gt; post. We mentioned then:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify" class="callout"&gt;&lt;em&gt;"mediums are combined to enhance the visibility of the message and the power of the experience of stories. [...] Each medium: video, audio, text, music, etc.- becomes “a new literate space” or “symbolic tool” storytellers use to portray narratives about the self, community and society (Hull, 2006)”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;These thoughts were triggered by the work of the French philosopher, &lt;a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/"&gt;Paul Ricoeur&lt;/a&gt;, who considers our self-identity a result of sign mediation and interpretation. Other themes in his work include: discourse and action, temporality, narrative and identity; also useful and relevant when exploring how storytelling and reality intersect. For example, how does building a narrative develop into a discourse that mirrors our context and existence? How does the medium chosen to carry this narrative define the language system of our discourse? Finally, let’s not forget this discussion is happening amid the digital question: how does the mediation of digital technologies enable or constrain our narratives of change?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;Against this background, I would like to propose a discussion around five points of intersection that came up organically* during my conversations with them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;a)&lt;strong&gt; The power of storytelling&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;br /&gt;What makes it a powerful vehicle of communication? How does this practice break from more traditional strategies of information dissemination?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;b) &lt;strong&gt;Storytelling as a vehicle to make change: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;How does the practice of storytelling intervene in the social imagination of its audience? Is it the experience or the content of stories what drives the message of change forward? Where does change happen: at the value, behavioral, community or macro level?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;c)&lt;strong&gt; The role of technology in storytelling:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;What is the part technology plays in storytelling vis-a-vis traditional storytelling? Is it a static infrastructure or does it shape the force and direction of the story? How does technology influence and impact their work&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;d) &lt;strong&gt;Translating awareness to action through stories: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can you guarantee the ideas and values imbued by the story will translate into action in the public space?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;e)&lt;strong&gt; Influence of stories on citizenship and political participation:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Can the power of stories be leveraged to instill a sense of responsibility in the audience?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify" class="discreet"&gt;* With the exception of Arjun Srivathsa, who addressed these points in a conference I attended. He later responded to a questionnaire in which I inquired about the intersections specifically.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;h2 align="justify"&gt;Introductions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;We first have &lt;strong&gt;Arjun Srivathsa&lt;/strong&gt;. He has a Masters in Wildlife Biology and Conservation and currently works as a Research Associate for the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS India). In tandem, he started Pocket Science India, an initiative that combines wildlife science with art and cartoons to promote conservation in India and disseminate information from scientific journal articles. He aims to bridge the gap between the work of scientists and people using art and humour.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="callout"&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;Arjun:&lt;/strong&gt; I find the world of science and scientists very cool. Finding new things, discovering and inventing ways to understand the world better is an awesome way of life. I chose a career in science for this reason, second only to my love for nature and wildlife. But the essence of science, according to me, is not just to discover, but also to communicate. Even though wildlife research in India has progressed massively in the past few decades, the only notion people have is that of exaggerated scenes from television documentaries. When I discovered that most of the work by Indian scientists on wildlife and conservation of India is making no difference to people (mostly because they are unaware), I decided to use the easiest way to bridge the gap: through humour and art.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;Second speaker&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;is&lt;strong&gt; Ameen Haque&lt;/strong&gt; from &lt;a href="http://www.thestorywallahs.com/"&gt;The Storywallahs&lt;/a&gt;. In what he calls his past life, he worked for 18 years in Advertising and Brand Strategy Consulting. Ameen also has a background in theatre and now works as as storyteller for The Storywallahs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/F8U5HAI-0TI" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/center&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;Finally, we have &lt;strong&gt;Ajay Dasgupta&lt;/strong&gt;, the founder of &lt;a href="http://thekahaniproject.org/"&gt;The Kahani Project&lt;/a&gt;, who also has a background in theatre and believes listening to stories is a fundamental right of children. His team works to capture stories in audio format and make them accessible.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633144&amp;amp;color=00aabb&amp;amp;auto_play=false&amp;amp;hide_related=false&amp;amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;p&gt;I will now invite them to share their thoughts on the points described above. Each panelist will respond to the questions using&lt;strong&gt; a different medium&lt;/strong&gt;: Arjun will comment with text and images, Ameen will comment with video and Ajay will comment using audiobytes. The idea is for each storyteller to use the medium and language they use for their own storytelling: cartoons, body language and audio respectively, as we explore how this choice mediates how they conceptualize change. I will act as a moderator and comment on common themes in the light of Paul Ricoeur’s characteristics of narratives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;1. The Power of Storytelling&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;What makes it a powerful vehicle of communication?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;div class="pullquote"&gt;&lt;span id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-642b-76be-1e09-54a2a3103a5c"&gt;“narrative attains full significance when it becomes a condition of&amp;nbsp; temporal existence” Time and Narrative&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;span id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-642b-76be-1e09-54a2a3103a5c"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;The first characteristic of narratives according to Ricoeur is:&lt;strong&gt; the ability to bring independent elements and episodes together into a plot within a specific context and time&lt;/strong&gt;. The relationship between time and narrative is addressed by the philosopher in his work &lt;em&gt;'Oneself as Another&lt;/em&gt;,' in which he frames narratives as the most 'faithful articulations of human time'. This leads to an understanding of time as a framework where we can locate unique events and patterns, trajectories and sequences. Our three storytellers comment on how stories are an effective mean to communicate information, and how this information resonates because it can be located in the frame of our human existence.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="callout"&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Arjun:&lt;/strong&gt; Storytelling really is the nascence of any communication technique. As kids we were all told stories with bees and birds, which spoke and thought. The moral life lessons and similar “information” were served to us on these fascinating platters.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1524964_614398581930298_1037858013_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 1" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 1" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"&gt;&lt;span class="hasCaption"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Dugongs are closely related to whales and dolphins. They are peaceful mammals that swim around gracefully and feed on sea grass. &lt;br /&gt;They are categorized  as “VULNERABLE” because there are not too many of them left in the world. &lt;/em&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"&gt;&lt;span class="hasCaption"&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;Find full cartoon &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=614398581930298&amp;amp;set=a.614397888597034.1073741836.609687355734754&amp;amp;type=1&amp;amp;theater"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p class="callout"&gt;At some point in life,  we all seem to stop appreciating the power of storytelling. Plain reporting of information has been done to death. Even an amazing discovery written as a formal report will fail to excite audience. It is time we all get back to appreciating stories. They sell. Movies generally do better than documentaries don’t they?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ameen:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Q5fphRoT-2k" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ajay:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633135&amp;amp;color=00aabb&amp;amp;auto_play=false&amp;amp;hide_related=false&amp;amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;2. Storytelling as a vehicle to make change&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt; How and where does change happen?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="pullquote"&gt;“All action is in principle interaction [...] change happens through interaction, as others are also encouraged to change” From Text to Action&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"&gt;The second characteristic of narratives is how the &lt;strong&gt;episodes in our narratives involve contingencies that will be shaped and reformulated through the development of the story&lt;/strong&gt;. The narratives are constructed in such a way that induce us to imagine possible events in the future and how we would act in said circumstances. This characteristic is supported by Ricoeur's understanding of the &lt;a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/#3.2"&gt;'self' as an 'agent'&lt;/a&gt;, who can act and influence causation by taking initiative or interfering&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a name="fr1" href="#fn1"&gt;[2]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; in the story. Even if the listener cannot necessarily influence the outcome of the story (unless it is participatory storytelling), it triggers thoughts about its capability to act and its ability to change future realities, as he imagines himself n the situation of its characters. This out-of-body experience is what turns story into experience.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"&gt;Our storytellers comment on how stories can influence and activate our agency and enable listeners to act towards creating change.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="callout"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arjun: &lt;/strong&gt;Of course! Like I said, it is easier to influence people when you are not being preachy. Storytelling sidesteps the moral high ground that change makers are often blamed to occupy and takes a pleasantly shrewd path, as silly as it may sound.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table class="plain"&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PS.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 4" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 4" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI2.jpg/image_preview" alt="PSI2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="PSI2" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"&gt;&lt;span class="hasCaption"&gt;#2:
 Increase in wildlife tourism has been brought about by the increasing 
population of the ‘Tourist’. This species is easy to recognize (see 
figure). The species has created an ecosystem of its own. It eats any 
kind of high or low profile food. Lives in resorts. Seeks charismatic 
animals like the tiger. Its daily activity involves excessive use of its
 camera. This species facilitates wildlife tourism&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"&gt;&lt;span class="hasCaption"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;#9: Wildlife tourism is an excellent way to 
expose people of India and abroad to its rich natural heritage [...] We 
definitely need to regulate the number of tourists to avoid crowding in 
the forests, but we also need to educate tourists, especially the 
first-timers, about wildlife and its conservation. The tourist can be an important tool in conservation – 
let’s not let it go waste!&lt;/em&gt;"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;Find full cartoon &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=609780439058779&amp;amp;set=pb.609687355734754.-2207520000.1396426793.&amp;amp;type=3&amp;amp;theater"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify" class="callout"&gt;To the question of where we locate change, it depends on what this change is. Through my work, I often target &lt;strong&gt;individuals and smaller communities&lt;/strong&gt; (say students, villagers etc.). I don't necessarily grab my paintbrush and declare that I will change the world. My idea of change is a tailored, targeted and therefore an efficient influence on individuals.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ameen:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GJpeQMltaT4" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ajay:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633137&amp;amp;color=00aabb&amp;amp;auto_play=false&amp;amp;hide_related=false&amp;amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;3. The role of technology in storytelling&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;How does technology influence and impact your work?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"&gt;Ricoeur’s thoughts on the relationship between text and action, makes us reconsider how we think about ‘&lt;em&gt;text&lt;/em&gt;’ and how this reading can be applied to technology. According to him, the distinction between text and action is not at the linguistic, but at the discursive level. This is how he differentiates language from discourse:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table class="plain"&gt;
&lt;thead&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;th&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Language&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;th&gt;Discourse&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/th&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/thead&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Structure&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;A system: timeless and static&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Located at a given time and moment&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Composition&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;A sequence of signs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;A sequence of events that describe, claim and represent the world&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Meaning&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Refers to signs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Refers to the world&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Communication&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Provides codes for communication. &lt;br /&gt;Necessary but not sufficient&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Communicates&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;Using these working definitions, we can understand the medium as &lt;strong&gt;a language:&lt;/strong&gt; a system that provides us with signs and codes for communication. A creative use of language and mediums will hence, enable us to create narratives and produce meaning (which will be generated and negotiated by the audience). Technology is in this case our language, and how each storyteller uses it determines new ways to create meaning: experiences, connections and associations with and within their stories. We now ask them if/how the use of this 'language' mediates and impacts their work.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify" class="callout"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arjun:&lt;/strong&gt; Technology is the best facilitator in the realm of my science-art-communication. I depend on it extensively, to first educate myself. Then to create artwork (computer, tablet, smartphone). And then eventually I depend heavily on social media to broadcast my work. I will definitely credit the power of technology for fostering and enabling effective communication.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/PSI3.jpg/image_preview" alt="PSI3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="PSI3" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;em&gt;# 11: The story of Ajoba was carried far and wide in newspapers, television news and the internet&lt;/em&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Find full cartoon &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=610114332358723&amp;amp;set=pb.609687355734754.-2207520000.1396426793.&amp;amp;type=3&amp;amp;theater"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify" class="callout"&gt;In my capacity, I feel most confident targeting students and urban youth. But thanks to the power of social media, putting my work out there has grabbed the attention of change-makers who are capable of things that is beyond my scope. This has led to collaborations through which the reach has become wider. Teachers use my art work in their classes, some organisations are using it in forest department buildings to educate visitors, some local groups have translated my work into regional languages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ameen:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/25EAnt1yi94" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ajay:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633141&amp;amp;color=00aabb&amp;amp;auto_play=false&amp;amp;hide_related=false&amp;amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;4. Translating awareness into action through stories&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Can you guarantee the ideas and values imbued by the story translate into action in the public space?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="pullquote"&gt;&amp;nbsp;“what must be the nature of action...if it is to be read in terms of change in the world?” From Text to Action&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p id="docs-internal-guid-10dcb36e-6935-a65e-1136-120c46ff2174" style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"&gt;So far they have told us about the power and content of stories. However, we have yet to find out what is it in stories that make listeners translate fiction into real life action. Ricoeur's final characteristic of narratives points us in the direction of empathy and interpretation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"&gt;Like discourse, action is open to interpretation. He posits t&lt;strong&gt;hat characters of our stories rise to the status of ‘persons’ when we evaluate their actions, including their doings and sufferings&lt;/strong&gt;. This ethical verdict determines the identity of the character in the eyes of the audience (above any other physical or emotional characteristics) and this is what ultimately adds meaning to the events of the story, as it inspires the audience to emulate or reject this behavior through their actions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr"&gt;We asked our storytellers their thoughts on how to translate stories' messages into meaningful action, or if it was even possible to guarantee this transition to begin with:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify" class="callout"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arjun:&lt;/strong&gt; I don’t [know]. One never does, I feel. But a lot of good awareness programs have made me change little things in my life. The people or groups who initiated those campaigns don't know of this, do they? This is somewhat similar. I believe that even if ONE person in the thousand who view my work gets influenced into making little changes, then it was worth my time and effort.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ameen:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/neFe7kj8dIc" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ajay: &lt;/strong&gt;(Ajay commented on the impact of stories while we were discussing how to gauge the impact of his work. In our first conversation he said:&lt;em&gt; "Change is happening but there are no tests that can measure it and quantify it.&lt;/em&gt;" and he elaborates on this idea below:)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633138&amp;amp;color=00aabb&amp;amp;auto_play=false&amp;amp;hide_related=false&amp;amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2 align="left"&gt;5. Influence of stories on citizenship and political participation&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;h3&gt;Can the power of stories be leveraged to instill a sense of responsibility in the audience?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;div class="pullquote"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"You can only achieve power in common by including the opinions of as many people as possible in the discourse"&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;Finally, as stated in the brief of the project on methods for change, we are also interested in defining how political participation should be manifested in the public space. Ricoeur frames political action as a result of discourse and political deliberation.For a brief discussion of the relationship between storytelling and our political identity visit &lt;a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/storytelling-performance-2"&gt;Part 2 of Storytelling as Performance&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;This last section captures the storytellers' point of view on how stories may affect our sense of citizenship and political responsibility.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left" class="callout"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arjun&lt;/strong&gt;: We are living in a society which is becoming increasingly insensitive and arrogant. There seems to be no time to stop and see the big picture: what are we doing? are our demands and lifestyles sustainable? Is the future generation secure? Impacts of our actions on the natural world.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table class="plain"&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/1511040_609776472392509_490391694_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 2" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_1533944_609777242392432_1081033930_n.jpg/image_preview" alt="Pocket Science 3" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Pocket Science 3" /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"&gt;&lt;span class="hasCaption"&gt;#1: Most of us love seafood. And why shouldn't we? It tops the charts as some of the most delicious delicacies in the world! It so happens that we rarely think about what goes on 
“behind-the-scenes” and take many things for granted. The story behind 
how food reaches your plate is quite a scary one!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption"&gt;&lt;span class="hasCaption"&gt;#12: So next time you feel like a getting a seafood dinner, do it with some perspective.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;Find full cartoon &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.609776052392551.1073741831.609687355734754&amp;amp;type=1"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Ameen:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lO0y0QZ3vhQ" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ajay&lt;/strong&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/144633136&amp;amp;color=00aabb&amp;amp;auto_play=false&amp;amp;hide_related=false&amp;amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" height="166" width="100%"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Closing Remarks&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;I hope you enjoyed reading, watching and listening these three wonderful storytellers share their ideas on technology, interpretation and action. The question that remains unresolved is whether the effect of the story is shaped by the use of technology or not. At the end of the day it is the interpretation of stories -more than what it is said and how it is being said- what will determine the sustainability of these intents for change. The answers of our storytellers reinforce the notion that technology is a system, a language, a medium that transports our messages and intentions, but that inherently lacks the ability to provide guarantees for action and sway users into a lifestyle of responsible citizenship the second they pull out from their cartoon, screen or mp3.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt; The box below includes a quick run through the main ideas discussed throughout the post:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;1. &lt;strong&gt;On the power of storytelling: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Arjun argues that storytelling is the origin of all communication techniques, and this makes it extremely attractive for the public. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Both Ajay and Ameen bring up the ability to influence behavior, shape the minds of people and transmit experiences, values and beliefs.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Both also brought up how dominant religions, ideologies, markets governments use storytelling to build movements and sustain their support&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Finally Ajay comments on the issue of access: stories are powerful yet only a small share of stories are being told&amp;nbsp; Hence, the need for this method to become more pervasive.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;2. &lt;strong&gt;Storytelling as a vehicle for change:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each storyteller locates change in different yet complementary spaces:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Arjun believes it must occur at the community level and hence the approach (stories) must be tailored and targeted in order to achieve an effective influence. His approach to change is very contextual.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ameen locates it at the behavioral level; in our ability to make decisions and choices. His approach to change is based on how we use information from stories to interact with our surroundings.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ajay locates it at the value level: He believes stories should influence us to adjust our values and only then, we will shape our behavior accordingly.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Role of technology:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;We approached technology as a 'text' and as a 'language' that creates new possibilities for meaning and interpretation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;For Arjun and Ajay, technology enabled them to connect with other organizations and increased possibilities for partnerships and collaborations.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;The three of them believe technology is an accelerator of the journey of stories and that it enables them to reach a larger audience.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ameen argued that each medium requires different fluencies, and that the language of each medium should be adapted for the story. For example, a story will be told in different ways if using body language, video, audio, etc. He uses the example of the &lt;a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/Twitter"&gt;Twitter adaption of the Mahabharata.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ajay closes by noting that although technology enables, it cannot replace the storyteller. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Translating awareness into action&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Arjun and Ameen comment on the power of effectively and positively influencing &lt;em&gt;one&lt;/em&gt; person. They believe the impact will exponentially spread and grow through that person's network or community.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Arjun believes you can guarantee it will turn into action.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ameen believes you need to move them and inspire them through your characters to the point they feel they can be the hero of that story and act accordingly.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ajay takes a more pragmatic approach towards action and shares some of the activities The Kahani Project uses to complement his storytelling sessions, such as: story-thons, story-booths and interactive storytelling, where they engage the audience in the production of their own stories.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. Impact of storytelling on citizenship and political participation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Arun and Ajay believe this will come as a result of self-reflection and an evaluation of our impact in the world.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ameen believes effective stories transmit the 'responsibility of action' through rhetoric. He uses the example of the popularity of India Against Corruption movement.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ajay believes storytelling is a humanizing force that has the power of healing. He recommends institutions should utilize this method to spread confidence and inclusion among society and particularly with excluded groups. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Footnotes&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p align="justify"&gt;[&lt;a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers#fr1" name="fn1"&gt;1&lt;/a&gt;] Semiotics is defined as the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. It is the study of making meaning and is essential to understand communication processes. While we will not look at any specific semiotics theory, we will focus on how stories create meaning through different signs and mediums, and how this meaning can be leveraged for making change.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[&lt;a name="fn1" href="#fr1"&gt;2&lt;/a&gt;] Refer to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s &lt;a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/"&gt;page on Paul Ricoeur&lt;/a&gt; and the section on ‘Selves and Agents’ to learn more about how action is mediated by causation, interference and intervention. Some interesting thoughts that inspired the above post&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;“What must be the nature of the world … if human beings are able to introduce changes into it?. Ricoeur adopts the analysis of interference or intervention that G. H. von Wright gives in Explanation and Understanding, and shows that for there to be interference, there must be both: an ongoing anterior established order or course of things and a human doing that somehow intervenes in and disturbs that order. Moreover, interference is always purposeful. Hence an interference is not merely ascribable to an agent. It is also imputable to the agent as the one whose purpose motivates the interference.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
“The second crucial question about action is “What must be the nature of action … if it is to be read in terms of a change in the world?” Ricoeur argues that every action involves initiative, i.e., “an intervention of the agent of action into the course of the world, an intervention that effectively causes changes in the world” (Oneself as Another, 109, translation modified). Initiative requires a bodily agent possessing specific capabilities and vulnerabilities who inhabits some concrete worldly situation.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Sources:&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dauenhauer, Bernard and Pellauer, David, "Paul Ricoeur", &lt;em&gt;The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy &lt;/em&gt; (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta&amp;nbsp;(ed.),
	 URL = &amp;lt;http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/ricoeur/&amp;gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers'&gt;https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/multimedia-storytellers&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>

    
        <dc:subject>Making Change</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Net Cultures</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Research</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Featured</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Researchers at Work</dc:subject>
    

   <dc:date>2015-10-24T14:26:51Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Blog Entry</dc:type>
   </item>


    <item rdf:about="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change">
    <title>Methods for Social Change</title>
    <link>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change</link>
    <description>
        &lt;b&gt;On this brief introduction, I outline the main targets of my research project for CIS and the HIVOS Knowledge Program. As a response to the thought piece ‘Whose Change is it Anyway’ I will explore civic engagement among middle class youth over the course of the next 9 months by interviewing change makers and collectives that are part of multi-stakeholder projects in Bangalore.&lt;/b&gt;
        
&lt;h3&gt;Why look at the civic engagement of digital natives?&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Some of the main knowledge gaps in the literature revolve around understanding the type and extent of political motivation and engagement of citizens (Fowler and Biekart, 2011) and how these motivations translate into sustainable and meaningful participation (Cornwall and Coelho, 2007) in the public space. Having the digital platforms as a space of participation, expression and experience (Cornwall and Coelho 2007, Pleyers, 2012) is necessary but insufficient infrastructure for civic engagement. It is the equivalent of building highways to improve the mobility and communication transactions of a community, disregarding the extent to which it connects the interests, knowledges and identities of those who transit these roads. Through the ‘Methods for Social Change’ project I want to explore the different factors behind building a strong sense of citizenship and sustained civic engagement through technology-mediated change practices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;The project seeks to respond to the questions around change-making raised in the thought piece&amp;nbsp; '&lt;em&gt;Whose Change is it Anyway?', &lt;/em&gt;as part of the Making Change project.&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;One of the main challenges today is how to move beyond the ‘spectacle’ created around digitally mediated change. The third axis of the piece specifically refers to what Shah calls the ‘spectacle imperative’, and suggests us to take a look at the less visible, undocumented narratives that are currently shaping change. Maro Pantazidou also makes the distinction between mass events and every-day practices of change; an interesting complement to Shah’s critique. Both frame ‘spectacle’ events that signal change in the public space as frequently short-lived instances of change, that lack a strong foundation to carry the “revolution” forward through every-day behaviour and practices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;This is not to say I am discrediting the impact of visibility of mass event citizen action. Change must be tackled from different fronts; whether it is by occupying the social imaginary through highly visible displays of civil disobedience or by tackling smaller community battles. However, according to John Gaventa and Gregory Barrett and their findings on mapping the outcomes of citizen engagement, there must be two elements to sustain activism culture: a) the presence of informed active citizens in the movement and b) practicing prefigurative activism, which is establishing horizontal democratic values in the internal organization of this movement. In other words, one of the ways to move beyond the ‘spectacle’ paradigm in citizen action, is through embedding civicness and solidarity networks in its citizens. Hence, my research will be based on the hypothesis that in order to make a transition from spectacle to quotidian activism, change practices must be infused with citizenship-building methods and the negotiation of the citizen identity in public and private spaces.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h3 style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;Who, Where and How&lt;/h3&gt;
&lt;p&gt;From this proposition, there are three areas to be explored:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;First, the profile of our &lt;strong&gt;change agents. &lt;/strong&gt;The population interacting with political and social issues through digital technologies is a very specific and privileged demographic. This group, assuming motivation and disposition, must count with the corresponding access and resources to act. As brought up in the Mapping Digital Media: India Report, recently published by the Open Society Foundation, middle class activism is not only on the rise but is currently experiencing the highest visibility when compared to political and social activism. This is the case not only for India but also for emerging economies in the Global South where the internet penetration rate is very much related to socio-economic status as well as to the urban-rural divide. Shah refers to this as the gentrification of contemporary politics and it is one of the core poignant critiques of his piece.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;However, it also leads to the question of how to channel the resources and privileged accessibility of this group for the 'greater good'. Instead of focusing on the problematic behind this power inequality, I would like to look at how this group is using these resources to create partnerships that allows them to disseminate knowledge, awareness and confidence to other citizens; the formula behind strong citizenship and willingness to act according to Gaventa.&amp;nbsp; This underscores the need for a mapping exercise that looks at the Indian political and social context in Bangalore and India, and identify the main challenges and opportunities to build citizenship and engagement among the middle class.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;Second, &lt;strong&gt;the spaces &lt;/strong&gt;where responsible citizenry must be instilled. As mentioned above, one of the main questions is how to translate the horizontal values of pre-figurative activism proposed by Gaventa into the horizontal forms of organization at the community level proposed by Pantazidou. The latter claims that establishing solidarity networks fights citizen alienation by providing a sense of belonging and adds that in order to strengthen these communal relations, citizens must be fully active, present and available in the social arena. In this respect, the possibilities for collaboration through online tools are grand for activism. Online tools and net-ability as pointed out by Fowler and Biekart in their exploration of post-2010 trends in activism, increase connected solidarity and collective consciousness, which are paramount for engaging the populace with its civic duties both in the community as in the larger public space.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;Nevertheless, digital tools remain neutral in the question of how to translate it into sustainable every-day practices for change. In order for online engagement to be truly sustained it must be backed up by a solid offline community that carries this lifestyle forward; a question at the backbone of this research. I will be looking at individuals and collectives from different fields that build partnerships to create positive and sustainable change in Bangalore and India. The objective is to see how further collaboration between change agents translates to the ground level by bringing new groups of people, with different skill sets, lenses and networks into the field of social change. Another interesting possibility is exploring whether these new amalgams of change practices prove to be more enticing and provoking for the 21st century citizen.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;Along these lines, the &lt;strong&gt;methods &lt;/strong&gt;utilized to engage this group will be the third area of research. Although the prevalence of the ‘spectacle’ blurs the lines between engaging in meaningful civicness and succumbing into the fad of ready-made activism, it would be interesting to look at what makes the ‘spectacle’ appealing and borrow some of those elements to improve advocacy practices. As outlined in the piece, events of change now seem to demand three characteristics to be effective: legibility, intelligibility and accessibility. Creating an image following these criteria provides the message a degree of visibility and clarity that enables its recognition and further amplification through digital technologies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;Therefore, the final research goal is to explore multi-stakeholderism and its potential to enhance visibility for social change. Identify artists, graphic designers, start-ups, entrepreneurs and collectives who are remixing their skills with technology to revisit the question of impact and influence on their audience. I would like to test whether Pleyers’ thesis on the cross-fertilization of activisms also applies to strategie and analyse whether this approach helps overcome the limitations of each tactic, foster ownership by different stakeholders and ultimately empower citizens. Furthermore, as part of a generation that is highly stimulated by the 'visual', I am curious to see how the role of aesthetics and inter-disciplinary collaboration behind middle class activism unfolds. Particularly in Bangalore, a crossroads of technology, activism and creativity, innovation is becoming a praxis norm among change makers. What is left to explore is the extent to which this creative ecosystem can produce and attract the apathetic citizen into the camp of sustainable civic action.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;All interviews and change-makers profiles will be published regularly on the &lt;a href="https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/" class="external-link"&gt;Making Change&lt;/a&gt; page on the CIS Website.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;h2 style="text-align: justify;" class="normal"&gt;Sources&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Biekart, Kees, and Alan Fowler. "Transforming Activisms 2010+: Exploring Ways and Waves." &lt;em&gt;Development and Change&lt;/em&gt; 44, no. 3 (2013): 527-546&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Cornwall, Andrea, and Vera Schatten Coelho, eds. &lt;em&gt;Spaces for change?: the politics of citizen participation in new democratic arenas&lt;/em&gt;. Vol. 4. Zed Books, 2007.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Gaventa, John, and Gregory Barrett. "So what difference does it make? Mapping the outcomes of citizen engagement." &lt;em&gt;IDS Working Papers&lt;/em&gt; 2010, no. 347 (2010): 01-72.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Open Society Foundations “Mapping Digital Media: India, 2012. Retrieved from: &lt;a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping-digital-media-india-20130326.pdf"&gt;http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping-digital-media-india-20130326.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Shah, Nishant “Whose Change is it Anyways? &lt;em&gt;Hivos Knowledge Program. &lt;/em&gt;April 30, 2013.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pantazidou, Maro. "Treading New Ground: A Changing Moment for Citizen Action in Greece.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Pleyers, Geoffrey. "Beyond Occupy: Progressive Activists in Europe." &lt;em&gt;Open Democracy: free thinking for the world&lt;/em&gt; 2012 (2012): 5pages-8.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;

        &lt;p&gt;
        For more details visit &lt;a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change'&gt;https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/making-change/methods-for-social-change&lt;/a&gt;
        &lt;/p&gt;
    </description>
    <dc:publisher>No publisher</dc:publisher>
    <dc:creator>denisse</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights></dc:rights>

    
        <dc:subject>Researchers at Work</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Web Politics</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Making Change</dc:subject>
    
    
        <dc:subject>Digital Natives</dc:subject>
    

   <dc:date>2015-04-17T10:42:11Z</dc:date>
   <dc:type>Blog Entry</dc:type>
   </item>




</rdf:RDF>
